The Qatari group bidding to buy Manchester United Football Club, led by Sheikh Jassim bin Amad Al Thani, is confident they’ll ultimately succeed. That’s according to a report in Bloomberg earlier today. The article also goes on to say that the only main rival bid, led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is in serious trouble due to its being opposed by MUFC shareholders.
How serious? Take a look at the Tweet below, which cites that Bloomberg reporter:
David Hellier from Bloomberg: “I’ve been told by sources that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid is dead.”
Sir Jim Radcliffe was being used by The Glazers, he simply cannot compete with Sheikh Jassim offer, certain ManUtd fans must be sad.
— Suhail (@SuhailChowdhary) June 29, 2023
The current owners of the club, the Glazer family, have been using Ratcliffe and Sheik Jassim against one another to create a bidding war and thus drive up the final price. So does that mean this needlessly tedious process and overly protracted drama is finally over?
The Glazers will now finally pull the trigger on selling?
Hard to say. Anything can happen. This saga has been dragging out eight months and counting for a reason.
It’s been so slow moving that a group of United supporters went to Old Trafford on Tuesday night, and blocked entry to the club’s stadium megastore as a show of protest against what is going on. With the Glazers, absolutely everything at MUFC moves at a snail’s pace.
If you want to try and read the tea leaves, you can always look at the Manchester United stock price, and see how it’s trading, in response to the latest headlines. As of the publishing of this article, MANU (NYSE) was down 2.5% on the day, so that’s not good.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.